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Numbers Resolve New Year’s

Gladys resolves to be share some of her acorns with less fortunate squirrels in 2013.

Olivia Samerdyke, Editor-in-Chief

More people actually achieve their New Year’s resolutions than the average person thinks. I was as shocked to hear that claim as anyone—but my mother, aunt, and I heard it on NPR, so it had better be true.

And according to the story, around 40-46% of the country actually succeeds when they vow to lose 10 pounds, quit smoking, or stop drinking soda with every meal. Yes… the gut reaction is to say, “46%? That’s not a lot—it’s less than half.” True, but Governor Romney managed to tick off a lot more than the 47% he wrote off during the campaign, and a similar percentage still resents the top 1 and 2% of America. That 46 looks a lot more impressive.

I wonder what percentage of the Mary Baldwin population succeeds in their resolutions, faculty, staff, student, president. For that matter, how many of them actually bother to resolve? Generally, I don’t, falling into the pitfall described on the radio—assuming failure from the start. To keep a resolution, one has to actually want to commit to it and believe that success is possible, and among the stresses of papers, exams, clubs, and the other whoop-dee-doo of college life, simply organizing a weekly schedule can be difficult.

Then again, MBC is full of Boldly Baldwin women, and a few Boldly Baldwin men, too. Where squirrels fight anything is possible, including going above the number 46. But we shouldn’t run before we can walk—another way to the success of a New Year’s resolution is to make it reachable. Trying to jump ahead 10 percentage points would probably be too ambitious. Attempting a tenth of that is more reasonable, and that way, if the number creeps up to a 50% success rate, everyone can be pleasantly surprised.